Last night I was at an association industry event and was asked about the types of projects that we are currently working on. Reflecting on that conversation today, I wanted to post my thoughts on the importance of creating some sort of game plan (or strategy) for education technology for in association. This posting is also a precursor to a virtual seminar that I am doing for ASAE/The Center on March 15th on the topic of eLearning strategy.
Creating a short-term game plan based on insightful information is a very good idea. Many organizations used to get wow'd by the technology "cool factor" and simply selected technology for the sake of claiming that they are now offering "eLearning". A trend, that I can only hope, is slowing down. The hype of eLearning is diminishing which is a good thing. And those who know me also know that my overall philosophy about eLearning is simply this...
eLearning is nothing without good content.
After eight years of working in the association eLearning world, there are four critical factors around strategy development. Each of the four areas have many facets, but the four areas are still relevant today.
- Get the right team together to create your strategy.
- Evaluate and identify your content first (don't even think about technology at this stage).
- Assess your business practices (staffing, business processes, budget, resources, etc.).
- Select delivery formats based on content, business practices, and resources.
All too often we are working with clients that have some sort of technology already in place. What we see is that the organization is trying to fit content that shouldn't be delivered via the technology they have. For example - virtual seminars are a great (and profitable) technology for many associations. Virtual seminars typically use the telephone to deliver the audio and a web connection to view the visuals (typically PowerPoint slides). These events are also live or synchronous events. Distributing facts and basic concepts are great in this delivery mechanism. Introduction of hot topics are timely announcements are great. Interviews with authors, debates on a topic are all good. But when your organization wants to "teach" principles or make behavioral changes this method is not necessarily the best. I would also argue that this delivery method may not be the best if you are trying to communicate difficult or extremely new concepts or principles to the audience. Cognitively this method doesn't work well.
As your organization begins to create an eLearning program -- remember to look at the content first. Determine the best way to deliver that information, then select the best method. Keep in mind that the more complex the content, the more live, face-to-face interaction may be needed.
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